The temporary file is named the same as the Excel document but prefixed with ~$ symbols. To clarify, if a user has opened an existing or created an Excel document entitled Example.xlsx, while this document is open there will be an associated temporary file entitled ~$Example.xlsx in the same location as your Excel document.
This is by-design and prevents other users overwriting your work, or even worse causing document corruption. You can open the document as Read-Only, but you will not be able to edit the document. The associated temporary file also stores the name of the person who currently has the MS document open, and if another user attempts to open the document, it displays a warning dialogue (see below) to inform them that, “The file is locked for editing”. The purpose of this associated temporary file is to lockout editing of your MS document to other users while you have it open. The associated temporary file remains present in the same location as your MS document until you close your document. However, you will not be able to see the associated temporary file from within the Finder because it is a hidden file. Whenever you save a Microsoft Office document (Word, Excel or PowerPoint) to your local hard drive or to a fileserver, an associated temporary file is created to the same location as your MS Office document.
